Leia Week 41: Grandma's 90th Birthday! - 4/9/14

The big event this week was the 90th birthday celebration of Mom (aka Grandma, aka Grand Nana, aka Leia's Great Grandmother). We all drove down to Fairfield for lunch to celebrate with her. It was a very nice day, and she was so happy to see her little Leia. Other than that, Leia is just moving and exploring all over the place. You can't keep her still for even a second...good thing we have our fancy camera to try to capture all the special split seconds! (We still end up with lots of misses, as well as so many cute ones that it's really hard to narrow down to the best...but Leia has so many fans, we figure you don't mind a few extra pictures on a blog about her!)

A happy girl, standing and playing with her "letter block toy".

Leia seems to think Daddy's shoe is always a fun toy...maybe we should get her nose checked!

Obstacle course!

Big smiles:)

Her characteristic lower jaw thrust...Josh says she gets it from her Great Grandfather John Transue.

9 Months old and it's already fashion before function...these little Roxy jeans are so cute, but way too stiff to move around in comfortably!

Little cutie in her snowman shirt.

The portable wind tunnel is such a big hit every day!

Hi Mom!

Oh boy, balloons sure are the best!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Just like at Christmas, the wrappings are still much cooler than the presents!

Uh oh, going straight for the China bowl!

Hey, where did all the candy go?

Yep, balloons are still better than lunch!

The local scarecrow at Paradise Valley wishing Mom a happy birthday.

Yep, center of attention wherever she goes.

Four generations of Ablan Ladies.

There's just something so precious about a sleeping baby!

Dad always knows how to get Leia to laugh!

Hey there sleepy-head! Did you and your friends have a nice rest?

Starting the day with a big smile is always a good thing.

Hey check me out: no hands again!

Found a great use for the leg warmers: covering the gap between pants and socks on a chilly day. She makes such a cute little Elf like this!

Happily snoozing arm in arm with her favorite monkey. Can't wait to find out his name!

Another delicious date night.

First day eating cheese. Not a big fan...how is that possible?!

Another day walking through the hood with Dad.

Two peas in a pod. Love these guys!

Leia's Playhouse Movie

For the last 9 months, Leia has been very busy learning how to play in all sorts of different ways. Not to mention all her equipment that has taken over our house.  Luckily we've had the camera on hand to capture all the smiles and fun at all the stages of her development.  Check out this little movie to see what she's been up to.

Leia's Playhouse from Katharine Transue on Vimeo.

Leia Week 39: First Ski Runs at 9 Months! - 3/26/2014

The US Alpine Championships were at Squaw this week, and the weather was sunny and gorgeous. Josh took Leia to meet all the Olympians and take her first run down a race course. And let me tell you, we are in trouble because she likes to go fast! She was very intrigued by both the ride up and the ski down. And even when Josh went fast, she didn't flinch. A bit stone faced, but definitely enjoying it.

Leia also turned 9 Months old this week. Gram Gram and Grandpa came to celebrate, and we got some very cute pictures in all her new clothes!

Ripping down the Pro Am dual GS.

Leia already showing her excellent form with her arms forward, upper body counter rotated and facing down the hill, and eyes looking ahead down the hill...so advanced!

Oh yeah, that was fun!

Leia was able to keep her shoulders square even when Dad was leaning in...I really think she's got a knack for this!

Good run Dad, let's do it again!

First ride up the chair!

Hi Mommy!

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

More fast arcs and great form...Leia is lucky to have such a great coach for a dad.

Big smiles...not sure who had more fun here!

Proud Papa.

Had to throw in the shot with blue skies and KT in the background.

Yay kisses!

And the day wouldn't be complete without a little Après and her first beer at The Chammy!

Another fun afternoon in Leia's Playhouse!

She's really starting to get so confident with her exploring.

Welcome back to Tahoe Grandpa!

My little sleeping baby...is that not the cutest sight ever!!

Oh yes, we have a character on our hands!

Corned Beef Hash...only a few days late and absolutely delicious!

Happy 9 Months and a new birthday suit from Gram Gram!

And her very own ski chair with a personalized LMT brand stamped in from Grandpa!

Leia Week 38: Spring Time Adventures - 3/19/2014

We had a busy week full of adventures. Leia hadn't seen her Great Grandma in awhile, and since neither of them was sick and the weather was nice, we hopped in the car and headed down for a visit. We had a wonderful lunch and got in lots of good play time. We also took advantage of the warm sunny weather in Tahoe and took our first trip to the Squaw Park to play on the swing. St. Patrick's Day was this week as well, and Leia definitely got into the spirit of the holiday...she was a little disappointed that no one gave her any green milk though! And lastly, we all got invited to the Matthews to watch "Ten Years A Slave" on the big screen, so Leia made sure to dress up in her new glittery Oscars outfit to celebrate the occasion.

Rooting through the closet and finding all sorts of fun stuff.

Excited to see her Great Grandma!

They both had all sorts of fun playing together.

Even though Leia was at a different stage of life than everyone else at the retirement community dining room, we decided her bib would be just as appropriate for all of them to wear!

A riveting conversation taking place at the lunch table with Grandma!

Yay, fun times on the swing!

I love playing with a happy girl!

Our little Leprechaun hunting for her buried pot of gold!

Found it! She doesn't know that shoes aren't as awesome as gold!

And to think we were worried about finding her a proper green outfit!

Cruising around the Oscar Party in her fancy new Roxy jeans and glitter shirt.

I love you Nana!

Diaper changes are so fun for everyone these days...Not!!

Leia Week 37: First Finger Foods! - 3/12/2014

Leia started eating "real food" at 6.5 months, but that has mostly consisted of puréed fruits and veggies, with a few chunks thrown in here and there. We've also kept control of the spoon in our hands, mostly to avoid the mess! Well, this week Leia got to take control! Josh found these great little rice cakes called Banana Mum Mums, which dissolve in her mouth, so it's a very low choke hazzard. Good thing because the baby instruction manual said to scatter a bunch of pieces and replace each piece as she ate it, but she just kept putting one piece after another into her mouth without stopping...a little game of baby chubby bunny! Decided we better go to a two pieces at a time, eat, swallow, then two more routine. And she loves it!! We don't even get food on the floor because she wants to eat it all!!  Leia also got sick yet again this week, but this time she had a fever and was really uncomfortable and miserable. When the thermometer hit 102 and was accompanied by lots of screaming, we headed to the doctor. But a couple doses of Tylenol later and she was back in action.

Are you really handing me something that I'm ALLOWED to put in my mouth and eat??

Yep, I'll take more of these please!

Yay, this is awesome! Yum yum yum!

Apparently being at the doctor is still so much fun that it distracted her from how crappy she felt!

They have great toys here Mom!

Preferred new sleeping position: taco'd in half with her head on her monkey in her lap!

Thank you to Worm for finding Josh a wine glass with a proper serving size!

Leia is a little jealous that her bottles aren't that big!

"Ok, looks like the coast is clear, let's go for a jail break!" ...Sorry Leia, you're on Candid Camera!